How Blake Farenthold is changing U.S. politics for the better

This is Congressman Blake Farenthold's full statement announcing his resignation on Friday, April 6. Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, has resigned from Texas' 27th Congressional District following months of controversy over a sexual harassment settlement paid for with taxpayer funds. (Video courtesy of Office of Congressman Blake Farenthold)
Wochit

Finally, some good is coming of Blake Farenthold's nearly eight years in the U.S. House:

Both houses of Congress have agreed that never again should U.S. taxpayers pay the cost of congressional members' misdeeds in the form of sexual harassment settlements.

The only problem with the legislation is that it's not retroactive. It doesn't require Farenthold to reimburse the $84,000 paid by taxpayers to a former Farenthold staffer, unbeknownst to those taxpayers until he was outed last year. The legislation is awaiting the president's approval.

While not forcing Farenthold to pay up, the legislation at least sends the unmistakable signal that there is no legal reason for him not to do so. Here's why that's important:

Immediately after the settlement was revealed, Farenthold promised to pay it back promptly. At the time, he had been preparing for an easy re-election campaign as a powerful incumbent in a safe district. He was highly motivated to pay back the money and be seen doing it.

Then it became clear to him that he was irreparably damaged goods. He decided not to run after all — thus also losing a primary motivation to repay the taxpayers. He began insisting that he had been advised by legal counsel not to pay — apparently on some flimsy notion that to do so was prohibited by law. The heat on Farenthold eventually rose enough that he resigned in April.

All the while, he has continued to insist that he didn't sexually harass the staffer, but he was pressured into agreeing to the settlement so the case could go away quietly. He also has stuck to the story that he can't repay taxpayers on advice of counsel.

Never mind how foolish Congress would have looked and how outraged the American people would have been if Farenthold had suffered legal consequences for reimbursing them. The new legislation should clear up Congress' intent once and for all. The only repercussion Farenthold would face in repaying taxpayers now is the only one he ever would have faced — being $84,000 poorer.

Now the question is whether redemption is worth $84,000 to Farenthold. At this point, all it might buy him is the satisfaction for having done the right thing. We have no way of knowing how much good it would do for his reputation. But we'd sure like to find out.